


Where Are My Dumplings

by dickard23



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Childhood Memories, Execution, Fire Nation Royal Family, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 13:31:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2509541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dickard23/pseuds/dickard23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Azula is taken to a "festival," but is not given any dumplings as she expects. She is not amused. Also, a man gets executed. I don't know if this is funny or tragic, but I couldn't come up with the right genres, so that's what I called it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where Are My Dumplings

Where Are My Dumplings?

Azula was five when she went to her first execution. As a member of the royal family, she was expected to be there when the Crown doled out the nation's harshest punishment.

Since she was so young, she had not previously encountered death. Ilah died before she was born, so did Iroh's wife Ikuko. For Azula, this was just some event that required her to wear her formal robes.

"Why are we getting dressed up?" Azula asked her mother.

"We're going to an execution." Ursa found it appalling that she had to watch this and even worse, she had to bring her children to watch it, but the Fire Lord was insistent that they see first hand what happens to traitors.

"What is execution?" She couldn't even pronounce the word correctly.

Ursa didn't want to say that the man was going to die. Instead she said, "well it's a public event and lots of people are going to be there and we have to look our best, so we're getting dressed up."

"Like a festival?"

"Yes," Ursa lied, the first of many lies she would tell her daughter.

"YEAH! I love dumplings!" All festivals that she had been to had served dumplings.

An hour later, the family was at the execution site. The man had stolen Fire Nation weapons from his fellow troops and sold them to the enemy. General Iroh and Lieutenant Lu Ten wore their military formals, as this crime was an affront on the military. The rest of the family wore the classic royal formal attire.

The man had already been kicked out of the military, all of his honors revoked. His house had been seized and his family was banished from the nation lest they want revenge, a mother with two young children forced to make it alone. She was trying to get them to Ba Sing Se, so they could start over.

The man had a choice, death by fire or being hanged. He chose fire. It was the most painful way of dying but in the Fire Nation, they believed fire could absolve you of your sins. It was the only way to get Agni's forgiveness and if you chose hanging, then you were condemned to suffer in the spirit world for all eternity. Given that choice, it seemed better to die by the flame.

The man was stripped down to his underwear, the final showing of humiliation before he got immolated. Three military men stood opposite him and hit him with a synchronized blast of fire, bringing about his death as quickly as possible.

The crowd's thunderous cheers drowned out the poor man's screams as he left this cruel world.

After Azulon addressed the crowd, reminding them that this is the price for treason, the family headed back home.

Ursa was disgusted. She had closed her eyes during the man's death, but the smell of burning flesh would not leave her nose or her heart.

Zuko knew he would have nightmares for weeks, and he clutched his mother's hand.

Iroh and Lu Ten were both silent. They had seen executions before. They would see more. It always stung when it was one of their own that got extinguished. Kick him out of the country, fine. Take all his assets, fine, but to burn him like that, in front of everyone, it was appalling, but they would never speak out against Azulon. They were the proud defenders of the Crown. They would keep their honor even if it cost them their humanity.

Ozai found it all amusing. There was nothing like a good execution to start the day.

Azula was mad. "This festival sucked. Why didn't I get any dumplings?"

Everyone was appalled, but no one corrected her and until she was old enough to understand what executions actually were, she just thought they were crappy festivals with no dumplings.


End file.
